You were warned.
You were warned in 2010.
You were warned in 2011.
You were warned in 2012.
Let me be clear, I'm not taking a victory lap here. I'm not pleased that I saw this coming two years ago.
I just want the theft to stop. I want it to stop right here, and right now.
------------
Everyone on this forum - and, hell, everyone in Singapore - needs to learn that
nobody is going to protect you from scams like Genneva.
The MAS will not protect you. All they can do is put Genneva on their watchlist, and Genneva has been on their watchlist for well over three years.
The small claims court won't protect you. They can't help you if the case is about a financial product.
And the CAD won't protect you. As they've shown time and time again - does anyone remember the Profitable Group fiasco? - they can't and won't act against Ponzis until after the scheme collapses.
Retail financial regulation in Singapore is a disgrace, and the people who end up getting hurt by this regulatory black hole are your friends. Your parents. Your co-workers. You. The first thing you can do is learn to spot a scam; learn to protect yourself; and learn to protect the people around you.
------------
But there's one other thing you can do. I can't do it any more, because I'll get accused of "
meddling in domestic affairs" from my pinko commie liberal-democrat granola-munching San Francisco pied-à-terre. But you can.
You can raise hell.
Write to the Straits Times, and tell them that you lost money. You'll lose face for admitting that, sure. But hell, you might as well save other people from losing face.
Demand to know why these Ponzi schemers weren't stopped before they blew up. Demand to know why Profitable Group wasn't stopped. Demand to know why Sunshine Empire wasn't stopped. Demand to know why the CAD has such a terrible record of protecting Singaporean citizens.
Demand to know why the MAS's hands are tied. Demand to know why they can't start raiding these scumbags and shutting them down, instead of just putting their names on a weak-sauce watchlist.
And when they print the usual elliptical answer from an MP, you don't have to take that. You can go to that MP's office and demand that they give the CAD and MAS more powers. You can talk to NMPs and get them on your side. You can call up Tan Kin Lian and recruit him to the cause.
Don't just sit there and take it. If you sit there and take it, these scumbags will keep taking your money; taking your parents' money; taking your friends' money. This will keep happening until you stand up and shout STOP.
I can't shout STOP any more.
But you can.